Air conditioning apparatus



April 6, w c CARR AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 24, 1955 JIZEO/"Iu y ll l wmiam'c. (Law Patented Apr. 6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE '7 Claims.

This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus of the kind in which the air is humidifled by causing it to flow through a vapor screen.

consisting of a mist or cloud of water particles and the invention contemplates a construction wherein the vapor screen is produced by a rotating dissipator, the water being delivered to the dissipator. in the vicinity of its axis of rotation and being broken up and difl'used as itfiows over the dissipator and is thrown therefrom by centrifugal force.

The invention, although not necessarily so limited, is characterized by features which may be employed to particular advantage in apparatus of a portable character. The apparatus in such case may be concealed in a console cabinet which, in the event that it is to be employed to condition the air of a home or ofiice, may be of any desired pleasing and attractive design which will harmonize with the furnishings of the room in which it may be located.

The principal object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character generally described in which the water particles of the vapor screen are finely divided and uniformly dispersed,

the dissipator is so formed that the breaking up of the water is initiated by its movement over the dissipator prior to its discharge therefrom. Intimate contact between the air and the water is, therefore, insured. 1

A further object is to facilitate delivery of the water from its reservoir to the dissipator.

A still further object is to provide a novel arrangement of the parts of the apparatus, whereby simplicity and economy in construction are obtained.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portable air conditioning unit embod l the features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the said unit and is .taken along line 2-2' of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section and is taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspecp tive view of the receptacle which receives the water from the storage tank and directs it against the dissipator.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5.

The apparatus, as illustrated, includes a metal this object contemplating a construction in which housing 9 which is removably secured in a cabinet lll, the said cabinet being formed in its rear and front walls H and I2, respectively, with air inlet and outlet openings l3 and l4 and being designed to correspond with the furnishings of 5 the room in which it is to be located. The housing 9 is formed to provide a tank or reservoir l5 for the water which is to be employed in conditioning the air and a hood E6. The latter is; formed in its rear and front walls with openings ill and it, respectively, which register with the corresponding inlet and outlet openings of the cabinet.-

An electric motor i9 is located in the hood l6 of the housing and is supported from theside walls thereof by a bracket 20 and ledge-providing strips 25.

The armature shaft of the motor I9 is provided with extensions 22 and 23, the former carrying a fan 24 which is located opposite the inlet opening ll of the housing and which is adapted to direct the air drawn in through said opening toward the outlet opening Hi.

In order to remove any dust particles and other solid impurities present in the air a filter element 25 is arranged in the-opening I3, the said element having a filling of steel wool or any other suitable filtering material and being carried in a frame member 26 which is removably secured in the opening l3.

Means is provided for maintaining a screen of finely divided water particles across the path of the current of air which is created by the fan 24. To this end the extension 23 of the armature shaft of the motor carries a dissipator comprising foraminous discs 21 and 28 which are mounted on a hub 28a; The disc 21 is formed with a shallow depression 29 while the disc 28 is spaced from the disc 21 and is preferably of a diameter slightly greater than that portion of the latter which defines the depression 29. The marginal edge of the disc 28 istumed. in slight- 1y toward thedisc 21 so as to conform generally to the adjacent face of the latter and thereby provide a space between the two discs which is 45 of a substantially uniform depth. The water in 1 the tank I5 is conveyed to a receptacle 30 by a belt 3|, the said receptacle being suitably secured to the housing of the motor l9 and being formed or provided with an annular flange 30a which extends into the depression 29 in the disc 21. The belt 3| is driven by a pulley 32 which i fixed to the extension 23 of the armature shaft and which is located in the receptacle 30. The belt 3| passes beneath a guide element 33 which is located a predetermined distance beneath the surface of the water in the tank IS, the said element being carried by the lower end of a depending rod 3 3 which is suitably secured at its upper end to the bracket 20. The belt 3! may be formed'of any suitable material. As illustrated, it is formed of laminated strips and is corrugated throughout its length, as best shown in Figure 3, to provide shallow depressions in which water accumulates when the belt passes beneath the surface of the water. As the belt 3|, therefore, moves upwardly out of the tank i5 and toward the receptacle 30 it carries water with it, the belt entering an opening 35 which is formed in the under side of the body flange 30a of the receptacle. During its passage around the pulley 32, the water which is carried in the pockets in the outer side of the belt is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, as illustrated in Figure 3, the belt emerging through an opening 37 in the underside of the flange 30a. The water, which is thrown outwardly in the manner described, flows by gravity toward the lowermost portion of the flange 30a, a portion of the'water flowing down oneside of the flange 30a and entering a trough 38 while a portion of the water which flows down the opposite side of the flange 30a enters a trough 39. The troughs 38 and 39, as illustrated, are formed by bending inwardly and upwardly the metal defining the upper marginal edges of the openings 35 and 31, the said troughs corresponding in length to the width of the flange 30a and terminating within the depression 29 in the disc 21- At their inner ends the troughs 38 and 39 communicate with channels 40 and 4|, respectively, the said channels being formed by portions of the flange 30a and communicating with a spout 42. The said spout terminates within the depression 29 in the disc 21. It corresponds in length to the width of the flange 30a. and one side thereof is provided by an, upwardly extending deflector 43 while the opposite side is provided by a rolled edge 44, the latter being of a height substantially less than that of the deflector. It will be apparent, therefore, that a portion of the water which is thrown against the flange 30a will enter each of the troughs 38 and 39 while) the remainder of the said water will pass through the channels 40 and 4| to the spout 42. The water which is carried upwardly by the pockets in the inner side of the belt passes around the pulley -32 and is discharged, as best shown in Figure 3, into the spout 42, the pulley 32 being formed with an annular groove 45 to provide a passageway for the water. Referring to Figure 1 it will be noted that the groove 45 is of a width substantially less than that of the belt 3|. The latter, therefore, will not enter the groove to displace the water. In this connection it will be noted that the relatively low height of the rolled edge 44 (see Figure 3) enables a spray of substantial width to enter the spout 42.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that water from the tank l5 will be delivered continuously through the troughs 38 and 39 and the spout 42 to the depression 29 in the disc 21. The water which is introduced into the depression 21 is, owing to centrifugal force, caused to move radially outwardly until it is thrown from the periphery of the disc, the perforations tending to break up the water into minute particles as it passes over them and thereby facilitating further diffusion of the water as the particles are thrown clear of the disc. The perforations are preferably closely spaced uniformly throughout the entire area of the disc. This has the advantage that the water is caused to spread evenly over the disc and hence the water particles which comprise the vapor screen will be finely divided and will be dispersed uniformly across the path traversed by the current of air. The centrifugal. force acting upon the water on the disc 27 increases progressively, of course, from the center of the disc in the direction of its periphery. As the film of water is of its greatest thickness at the central portion of the disc 21 there may be a tendency, in some instances, for a portion of the water to pass completely through the apertures in that portion of the disc which defines the depression 29. Such water will, in the embodiment illustrated, be deposited upon the disc 28 and will be broken up and diffused as it moves over the disc and is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, the vapor or mist produced by the disc 28 commingling with that produced by the disc 27.

In the operation of the apparatus the current of air from which the solid impurities have been removed by the filter element 25 is caused to pass through the vapor screen produced by the dissipator thereby to entrain so much of the vapor as may be necessary to increase the humidity of the air to the extent desired. In its passage through the discharge outlet of the cabinet the air is caused to traverse zig-zag passages 46 (Figure 4) which are provided by scrubber plates 41. Any surplus moisture entrained by the air is deposited upon the said plates and returns by gravity to the tank l5. The plates 61 serve the further purpose of scrubbing and further cleansing the air. The latter, therefore, as it emerges'from the outlet opening [4 is free of dust and objectionable odors and contains a water content of the desired value. It will be apparent that, owing to the effectiveness of the dissipator in breaking up the water into minute particles and in uniformly dispersing the said particles across the path traversed by the current of air, the air can be uniformly treated.

Preferably a perforated shield 48 is suitably secured in the hood IS, the said shield serving to intercept and further diffuse those water particles which would otherwise strike the hood with such a force as to be audible. A deflector 48 which is arranged in the tank l5 projects upwardly a short distance behind the outlet opening in the housing 8 to prevent water from splashing out of the cabinet. It will be apparent, therefore, that the water particles are confined within the housing and are so controlled as to be substantially inaudible during the operation of the apparatus. The water may trolled to maintain the level of the water at a predetermined height.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a. fan and a motor for operating said fan to'create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said cur rent of air is directed, said means including a foraminous disc which is rotated by said motor and means for delivering water initially and exclusively to the central portion of the disc, the water flowing outwardly from said central portion over the perforations in the said disc and being thrown from the periphery thereof by centrifugal force.

2. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fan and a motor for operating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a forminous disc which is rotated by said motor,'said disc being formed with a central depression and an annular marginal zone which surrounds said depression, and means for delivering water into the said depression, the water flowing out of the depression over the perforations in said marginal zone and being thrown from the periphery of the disc by centrifugal force.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fan and a motor for opcrating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a foraminous disc which is rotated by said motor, said disc being formed with a central depression and an annular marginal zone which surrounds said depression, and means for delivering water to said disc, said last named means including a nozzle having a discharge end which terminates within said depression, the water flowing out of the depression over the perforations in said marginal zone and being thrown from the periphery of the disc by centrifugal force.

4. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fan and a motor for operating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a foramir nous disc which is rotated by said motor, means for delivering water initially to the central portion of said disc, the water flowing outwardly from said central portion over the perforations in the said disc and being thrown from the periphery thereof by centrifugal force and a second foraminous disc of smaller diameter than said first mentioned disc for covering the central portion of said disc and for receiving and dispersing any water which passes directly through it.

5. In apparatus of the character described.

the combination with a fan and a motor for operating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a foraminous disc which is rotated by said motor, said disc being formed with a central depression, means for delivering water into the said depression, the water flowing from the depression over the perforations in the disc and being thrown from the periphery thereof by centrifugal force and a second foraminous disc located behind said depression for receiving any water which passes through said first mentioned disc.

6. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with afan and a motor for operating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a water reservoir, a foraminous disc which is rotated by said motor, a receptacle having a nozzle which terminates at one side of said disc in the vicinityof its axis of rotation, an endless belt partially immersed in the water in said reservoir and a pulley in said receptacle around which said belt passes, said pulley being driven by said motor, whereby as the belt passes around said pulley the water carried thereby is thrown clear of the belt and flows to said nozzle, said nozzle being so located that the water is delivered by it initially and exclusively to the central part of said disc, whereby the water flows outwardly from said central part over the perforations In said disc and is thrown from the periphery thereof by centrifugal force.

'7. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a fan and a motor for operating said fan to create a current of the air which is to be treated, of means for producing a vapor screen through which said current of air is directed, said means including a water reservoir, a dissipator which is rotated by said motor, a receptacle having a discharge outlet which is located in the vicinity of said dissipator, an endless belt partially immersed in the water in said reservoir and a pulley in said receptacle around which said belt passes, said pulley being formed with an annular groove which is of a width less than that of said belt and being driven by said motor, whereby the water which is carried by the inner side of said belt enters the groove in said pulley and .is discharged therefrom into said receptacle.

WILLIAM C. CARR. 

